National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS). NADFAS Church Recorders are volunteers who make comprehensive records of the contents of churches. nadfas.org

The Cathedrals & Church Buildings Library is located at Church House, Westminster, London.

The Library houses over 1300 books and other material dedicated solely to ecclesiastical architecture, art, design and liturgy and is a unique research tool for readers interested in those areas. There are also detailed files on 16,000 parish churches, many containing guidebooks, postcards and photographs and copies of the records of the contents of over 1,500 individual churches compiled by the NADFAS Church Recorders. churchcare.co.uk/about-us/cathedra-and-church-buildings-division/staff-list

Lambeth Palace Library is located at Lambeth Palace and looks after various collections of archives relating to the history of the Church of England. It also has a collection of over 1300 church plans which can now be accessed online. To find out more and how to access this collection lambethpalacelibrary.org

Further Reading

Country Way is a magazine that includes numerous examples of good practice from churches and communities across rural Britain, and often highlights useful resources and ideas. Produced by Germinate: The Arthur Rank Centre, it comes out three times per year. germinate.net/country-way

Churches for Communities: adapting Oxfordshire’s churches for wider use by Becky Payne

This book documents the changes taking place in churches and chapels across England by focusing on twenty-five places of worship in the towns and villages of Oxfordshire and telling the stories of groups, largely of volunteers, who gave their time and energy to raise millions of pounds and work through the challenges involved in adapting an historic place of worship. Published by the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust, all proceeds go to the work of the Trust. 136 pages, 150 colour illustrations.

Described as a ‘richly illustrated elegy, and a plea for the preservation of the country church’, this book tells the dramatic story of the English parish church, from the first temporary buildings erected in Anglo-Saxon times to its uncertain future in the twenty-first century. The author entertainingly and anecdotally relates the dramatic ebb and flow of the English parish church, through its various epochs and vicissitudes. It describes how over the last few decades, however, the building itself has come under threat and Sir Roy Strong concludes that, in order to survive, the country church will need to find a new role within a changed countryside.

An important, brief reflection on the contribution of the church building to the mission of the church within a community, and the role of the church building within that community. Including a plethora of case studies. (With many more, and much further detail on the accompanying website.)